Fall To Pieces
by xXStarrXEyedXGurlXx
Summary: Courtney is accepted into Harvard Law, all the way in the US. Now Courtney must make maybe the hardest decision of her life. will she follow her dreams to Harvard? or life he life with her dream guy Duncan? DxC story. rated T for teenagerness
1. Letters, Tears, and Massachusetts

**So this is another DxC story. i can gurentee lots of drama in store, much more than my last series. Plz R&R...all reviews are good reviews!!!**

**Disclaimer: as much as i would love to own Duncan and Courtney, or any of the TDI characters, sadly i don't, which is probably a good thing cause if i did, Gwen would have been killed off a looooonnnggg time ago!!!! Buahahahahahahahahaha xDD**

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Courtney stared at the object she held in her hands, too awestruck for words. She'd been dreaming about this moment since the second grade, yet behind her strong exterior there always was a hint of doubt. A tear began to form in her eye as she believed this was the happiest day of her life. All her dreams were coming true, everything she believed any sensible girl could want. It was…

.

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…an acceptance letter from Harvard Law School. The most prestigious schools in North America, and possibly the world, allowed her, a simple girl from Toronto, to attend their immaculate establishment, with a full scholarship no less. Law had always been a passion of hers, after politics of course, but after her realization that she could never be the first woman president due to her Canadian descent, she quickly turned her career path to law, and who knows? She could still make it to Washington as a Supreme Court Justice. Either way, going here would open endless career possibilities. Finally, her life was coming together. After the waste of time she spent on that stupid reality show, and the underachieving friends she made at her local public high school, she'd finally meet people who shared her same interest in success and intelligence. True, she did meet some amazing people on TDI such as her friend Bridgette, who actually lived in the States, but Courtney kept up with her by any way of communication possible. Then there was her boyfriend Geoff who ended up following her out to Florida after the show ended due to his so-called "love" for her. They apparently both planed to move out to Hawaii after they graduate so Bridgette can surf and study marine biology, and Courtney wasn't sure what Geoff planned to do with his life. In retrospect, Courtney didn't make too many friends from TDI, well from anywhere actually. But the best thing from TDI had to be her meeting Duncan. They'd been dating for almost two years and he'd been committed to her even though they lived about an hour away. He almost moved from his home in Toronto to the small suburb outside the city where she lived if it wasn't for the fact he was still on parole and required to stay with his parents until he was eighteen. He'd be eighteen in June and legally be able to move out. And that's when it occurred to her..

"What am I gonna tell Duncan?" Courtney frowned as her elation began to drain. Going to Harvard would require her moving to Massachusetts. That's quite a while away from Toronto. She knew this was going to be hard. As much as the two loved each other it never occurred to them to discuss their future. Maybe it was because Courtney secretly dreaded it because she knew a long distance relationship could never work. Going to the US for school would allow her a student VISA allowing her to stay as long as it took to get her degree. But unless Duncan could get US citizenship, which was highly unlikely due to his criminal record, he wouldn't be able to go with her. It was March so she figured it would be about six months before she needed to leave. Six months left with Duncan, then it would be goodbye.

~:~

Duncan was about to leave for Courtney's house for their usual weekend visit, when he received a text from her.

C: hey have u left yet???

D: just about babe, why?

C: oh…nothing I just can't wait to see you…and, there's something we need to talk about

D: what??

C: don't worry about it, just be here as fast as you can

D: you're not pregnant r u???

C: No!! god no, seriously don't dwell on it….luv u can't wait for u to get here :) XOXO

D: Okay, luv you too

Duncan sighed. God it would have sucked if she was pregnant. Not that he wouldn't want to start a family with her, he loved her to death, it was just she was so goal oriented and he certainly wasn't ready to have a kid. Ever since Geoff had called him a few month ago thinking he knocked up Bridgette, Duncan had been really paranoid about it, even if it was a false alarm. It really was like Geoff to overreact like that. Well if she wasn't pregnant, then he wondered what was going on with her. Duncan climbed in his car, and started it as he made his was to Courtney's. Duncan turned on the radio and began listening to his favorite hip hop station. But even if the music was blaring in his ear, he didn't seem to be listening. His mind was still dwelling on what Court was worrying about this time. As much as she was putting it off, he could tell by her message that something was wrong. Seriously wrong. Duncan mind had been so reoccupied, he almost missed the exit off the freeway, almost. He swerved left and barely made the turn. He drove off the freeway and made his way to her house. He pulled in her driveway and turned off the motor. When they first started dating, Courtney's parents didn't really approve the idea of him spending the weekend at her house, well mostly her dad didn't like it. But they came to an agreement that as long as he stayed in the guestroom then it would be fine. But of course Duncan or Courtney always found a way to "sleep" in the same bed, as long as they snuck back to the proper arrangement before her parents woke up. Duncan grabbed his duffle out of the trunk and walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

"Hello Mrs. Allen, how are we this evening?" Duncan smiled and said to the warm lady who opened the door.

"Duncan, I've told you, call me Sharon. Come on in, Courtney's up in her room." She replied.

"so where is Bill tonight?" Duncan said looking around for Courtney's dad.

"oh he's gone on a business trip this weekend," Sharon replied and Duncan smiled. "but the regular rules still apply young man." She said raising an eyebrow at him.

"Of course Sharon, what type of young man do you think I am?" Duncan chuckled.

"You don't want me to answer that Duncan." She smiled and turned to close the door.

Duncan smiled at the woman and made his way up the stairs to Courtney's bedroom. He opened the door to find her on her laptop, typing away.

"knock knock?" he smiled and dropped his bag on her floor.

"Duncan!" she smiled and ran to hug him. He picked her up and kissed her. She smiled and he put her down.

"So what this big important thing you need to talk to me about?" Duncan said as he put her down.

"um well I have some big news…" Courtney started.

"yea.." Duncan raised his eyebrow.

"I got into Harvard in a full scholarship!" she smiled.

"that's great!" Duncan smiled. "So is this in Ontario or…" Duncan asked.

"Duncan, it's in Massachusetts.' Courtney stated. Duncan gave her a confused look. "like the US, it's in the states." Courtney clarified.

"the states?" Duncan repeated. "so you're really serious about leaving, I mean what about all those you applied for in Canada?" Duncan looked at her.

"yeah I'm serious," Courtney looked at him and scrunched his eyebrows, "Duncan, Harvard is the top school in North America, and I got in on a full scholarship. Do you know how many people would kill for an opportunity like that?!?"

"well I'm happy for you, and hey the US could be fun." He smiled. "I've never left Ontario before but I can handle new experiences." He hugged her. She pushed him away.

"Duncan…" she turned and looked out her window. "I don't know how to tell you this but…" she looked him in his worried blue eyes. "You can't come with me."

"wait, what do you mean I can't come?" Duncan began to laugh nervously.

"I mean I can get a student VISA, but it's highly unlikely you can get citizenship before I go." Courtney explained.

"So? I'll hop the border, do it Mexican style!" he smiled.

"Duncan! That illegal!" she frowned.

"and when has that ever stopped me before?" he chuckled.

"Duncan! This isn't a joke! I can't let you do that," she frowned. He frowned and sat on her bed.

"So long distance could work?" Duncan said and Courtney looked down.

"Duncan you and I both know that could never work." She mumbled and he scrunched his eyebrows.

"So what? That's it? You're just gonna leave me to go pursue your own dreams? What about US!!!!" Duncan retorted.

"well I don't have to leave until September.." Courtney said still looking at the floor.

"So you're saying that we can be all lovey dovey till you leave, then its bye bye Duncan! I'm gonna just leave to go be a big time college student and leave you here!" Duncan stood up and threw his hands in the air.

"Duncan it's not like that!" Courtney's eyes began to well up, "I love you! I really do!"

"yeah, but you're not willing to keep us together cause your future too important! What about me Court? I thought I was part of your future." His cheeks were flushed.

"so what?!" a tear fell down her face as she glared at him with sadness and anger, "you're just gonna leave cause I won't let you follow me to college?!?"

"if you're not willing to have a future with me, then its pointless to keep up this charade that we're together?!?" he replied angrily.

"Duncan, I love you and I wanted to be with you as much as I can before I leave! And I thought you would too!" another tear streamed down her hot pink cheeks.

"I may be a criminal, but I'm no ones lap dog. I either get all of you, or none. Six months just isn't good enough." He said sternly as he picked up his bag.

"Duncan…" she was sobbing.

"Good bye Courtney, hope you have a hell of a time at Harvard!" Duncan stormed out of her room and ran down the stairs.

"Duncan!" Courtney ran out her room trying to get him to stop. He looked back at her, then shook his head as he walked out the door. He climbed in his car, wiped a tear off his face, and pulled away from her house. He didn't know where to go, so he just drove he drove until he was at least two hours from Courtney's house. He finally stopped at an apartment complex that had become all too familiar lately. He walked up the stair case and knocked on the door of one of the apartments. The door opened

"Duncan? What are you doing all the way out here?"

~:~

Courtney collapsed in the hallway as she watched him walk out the door. She was sobbing when her mom ran up the stairs.

"Courtney! Baby what's wrong? Where's Duncan?" her mom rushed to her and kneeled next to her. Courtney wrapped her arms around her and began sobbing on her shoulder. "Courtney what happened?" Sharon asked again.

"he's gone mom," Courtney blubbered out still clutching to her mom for dear life. "Duncan's gone. And he's not coming back…."

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**ooOOoOoOOoo soo dramatic!!!!**

Will courtney actually leave for Harvard??  
Who is this person Duncan went to see???  
Will Bridgette and Geoff remember to use protection?!?!?

all these questions and more in the next chapter!!!!  
~L


	2. Drama in the middle of Nowhere

**Why yes it is a new Chapter!!! and i would like to say thanks for all of you who have been kind enough to review my story!!! it really makes me warn and fuzzy inside :) so i wanted to update as soon as i could for you guys!!! hope you like it **

**Btw i have one more item on the agenda...**

**i don't own any characters on TDI/A, but if i did, hehe oh what the fun i'd have!!!!**

**okay! enjoy!!!**

**~L.D  
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"_Duncan? What are you doing all the way out here?" …_

Gwen stood there leaning against the door frame of her apartment.  
''Nice to see you too.'' Duncan rolled his eyes, ''can I come in?''

''Oh yeah, of course.'' Gwen gestured into her one bedroom apartment. Duncan looked around. It looked pretty much the same as it was a few months ago when he visited her while Courtney was at a leadership retreat weekend thing. She had a few drawings and paintings on her wall, a used pullout couch, a TV on a small table, and a small hotel sized kitchen. He saw her bedroom door slightly open right off from where the kitchen was. He dropped his bag a few feet in. ''So um yeah just make yourself comfortable.'' Gwen said as she plopped on the couch. Duncan followed suit and plopped next to her. ''So what brings you all the way out here to god knows where.'' Gwen smiled looking at the punk.

''Eh, didn't really have anywhere else to go.'' he shrugged.

''Aren't you supposed to be at Courtney's? You go there on the weekend's right?'' Gwen asked.

''We broke up.'' Duncan muttered.

''Wait, what?!? Who broke up with who?'' Gwen sputtered.

''Well I...uh I got dumped, she broke up with me.'' Duncan replied.

''Geez I'm sorry Duncan,'' Gwen put her arm around him, ''did she say why?''

''She pretty much said she wanted to be single when she went off to college, and she didn't want me to get in the way of her Harvard dreams.'' Duncan lied.

''Whoa she got into Harvard? Well I guess that's expected with Courtney. But she was not your type anyways, way too high maintenance.'' Gwen figured and smiled. ''Well if its a place to stay you need, you're always welcome to stay here. You want something to drink?'' Gwen asked standing up.

''Thanks Gwen, and yeah that be nice.'' Duncan replied.

''Here,'' she handed him a beer. ''I know when I broke up with Trent I wished I had alcohol.'' she smiled.

''You drink?'' Duncan raised his eyebrow at her as she took her seat.

''Nah, my ex left them here when I kicked him out a few weeks ago.'' Gwen replied taking a sip of ice water.

''So have you talked to Trent lately?'' Duncan asked taking a sip of his beer.

''No, I tried really apologizing to him, but he won't have it. God it really pisses me off though, cause he's been like the last decent guy I've dated. I've been through at least four different guys since him, and they've all been total jerk-offs. He was my first love.'' Gwen sighed.

''Wow that sucks. But I know how you feel, losing your love and all.'' Duncan slumped. ''Well I guess we can be all sad and pathetic together,'' Gwen smiled.

''Yeah I guess so.'' Duncan smiled.

~:~ (three months later) ~:~

Courtney sighed. That would be the twentieth call, fourth voicemail, tenth text message, seventh email, third letter, and one graduation invitation she made to Duncan. She gave up most of her hope a while ago, but she scrounged up a little hope by trying. She had talked to Bridgette at least twice a day about him, and her spiraling depression. Bridgette was using Geoff to find out where Duncan was. Turns out he never came home that night, and his parents just let him leave. Courtney turned from her computer ad stared at her calendar. It had been three months since they broke up. Bridgette and Geoff flew up from Florida for her graduation. Geoff had talked to Duncan a few weeks ago, but Courtney was too mad at him to show any interest by then. Bridgette decided to stay for the rest of the summer to help Courtney get ready for the big move, and help her enjoy the freedom she had left before college.

''So Court, me and Geoff are gonna visit some other people while we're here, so we figured since your going shopping this weekend with your mom, we'll do our visiting then. Is that okay?'' Bridgette asked her friend.

''It's Geoff and I, and that's fine, I don't wanna keep you captive here your entire summer,'' Courtney chuckled. Bridgette smiled. She'd been worried about her friend. After her brutal breakup with Duncan, Courtney had been emotionally on the rocks. And for the first week Bridgette was there, Courtney wouldn't let Bridgette leave her side, in fear of Bridgette abandoning her. Bridgette could tear Duncan's head off for doing this to her, and Bridgette planned to on her and Geoff's little outing this weekend. Turned out when Geoff talked to Duncan a few days ago, he found out he was hiding at Gwen's. But despite all the drama he caused, it looked like Courtney was returning back to her normal self.

''Bridge?'' Courtney's voice brought her back to reality,

''Yeah,'' she smiled,

''Who are you guys seeing?'' Courtney asked curiously.

''Oh uh we're gonna see DJ and Katie in Toronto, apparently they're dating so we'll see Sadie most likely. Then we're gonna go out somewhere to see Leshawna. And Geoff wants to take a visit to Gwen, apparently they're 'buddies', so that'll be interesting.'' Bridgette rolled her eyes.

''Wow, that's a lot of people, but that sounds like fun. Course I didn't know Geoff kept in touch with Gwen.'' Courtney raised an eyebrow.

''Well I don't know about him, but I haven't spoken to her since the show, she really got on my bad side with the whole Trent thing.'' Bridgette said.

''Yeah, lets just say I consider heather a better person than her after all that drama,'' Courtney narrowed her eyes. ''Du- I mean HE tried to get us to make nice a few months ago, but it turned out pretty bad,'' Courtney winced at the memory.

''Well sometimes people just don't get along, no matter who tries to make nice,'' Bridgette thought about her long feud she held with Duncan. She never liked the guy, and what he did to her best friend was just the icing on top of the cake of hate.

"So enough of that, I have something more important to ask." Courtney said seriously.

"What?" Bridgette raised her eyebrow.

"Should I go for a blue and brown argyle pattern? Or black and white lace pattern?" Courtney held up two catalogues.

"What are you talking about?" Bridgette giggled and walked over to her at the desk.

"For a dorm room set!" Courtney sighed. "See, the blue and brown is classic and relaxing, but the black and white is chic and fashion forward! It's quite the dilemma." Courtney said looking at the sets.

"I don't see the big deal," Bridgette chuckled.

"Bridgette! This is no laughing matter! Your college dorm room is a complete reflection on your personality, not to mention it's the first living space you have after leaving home." Courtney explained.

"Well since you put it that way," Bridgette pondered. "I'd go with the blue and brown, it's more you."

"You're right," Courtney smiled. "Besides, I've always loved argyle."

~:~

"Duncan! You got another letter from your parents address," Gwen yelled as she returned from getting the mail.

"Uh, just do whatever you did with the others." Duncan said as he walked from the kitchen.

"You really should go through your mail," Gwen sighed as she shoved the letter in a drawer with three others like it.

"Eh, not like there's anything important," Duncan shrugged.

"You won't know unless you check," Gwen gave him a small smile. She knew all his mail he ever got was either from his parents or Courtney, but he told her not to say anything about either of them a few days after they started living together. She felt bad that Courtney was writing the letters so they could sit in a drawer, but she wanted Duncan to be happy even more. She'd missed having any of her old friends around, and keeping Duncan around was a priority for her. "So how was work today?" she asked looking through her mail.

"Ugh it was hell. The garage was packed with cars; I had to skip lunch just to get through them all." Duncan groaned referring to his job at a mechanics down the street.

"Well that sucks. The office wasn't any better; you'd think the front office of a school would be pretty chill over the summer, go figure." Gwen rolled her eyes ad sat down on the couch. He smiled as he looked at her. "What?" she looked at him smirking at her. He sat down at her.

"Nothing, its just funny to watch you when you get flustered." He chuckled as he sat next to her.

"Glad I could be entertainment for you, among other things," she replied sarcastically.

"Speaking of which, here is this months rent," Duncan said pulling a check out of his pocket.

"Duncan I've told you, don't worry about it," Gwen replied.

"No I insist, I've been here for like three months, and it's not fair for me to take advantage of a friend like that. I may be a criminal, but I'm not an ass." He smiled handing her the check.

"Friend…" Gwen repeated.

"Uh well, I mean..." Duncan stuttered awkwardly.

"No, no, it's not like we've ever been anything else but that." Gwen replied getting up.

"Gwen, wait," He grabbed her wrist. She looked back at him, and he got up and looked at her right in her onyx eyes. "I never said I wanted it to stay like that, I just assumed you did." Duncan said seriously. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her in gently. He bent down and kissed her lips softly. Gwen replied by eagerly kissing him back and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer.

~:~

Geoff pulled into a run down apartment complex after him and Bridgette started their weekend adventure from Courtney's house.

"Babe, you sure this is it?" Bridgette questioned wearingly.

"Yeah, this is the address Gwen gave me over the phone," Geoff said looking at the address on the building. They both shrugged and got out of the car. They headed to a stair case on the outside and climbed. They walked to an apartment labeled 214.

"You sure you're okay coming here?" Geoff asked his worried girlfriend. "I mean I know you're not on good terms with either of them."

"Yeah Geoff, I'm fine. I need to confront him about Court anyways. He's being a total ass about the whole thing; I mean planning the silent game is really immature." Bridgette replied. He kissed her on the cheek and she gave him a weak smile. He knocked on the door and the pair waited for a reply.

"Hello?" an onyx eye peeped out from a chain locked door.

"Gwen? Hey it's me and Bridge." Geoff gave her a warm smile.

"Hey! Oh hold on," Gwen closed the door to unlock it. She swung the door open and gave Geoff a hug. "Hey how are you guys!" she beamed letting go of Geoff.

"We've been pretty good, y'know visiting old friends around here," Bridgette replied with a forced smiled. Gwen gave her a hug and Bridgette replied half-heartedly.

"Hey you okay Bridge? You look a little tense," Gwen asked stepping back.

"Oh she's just tired from the drive out here, aren't ya honey?" Geoff replied putting his arm around Bridgette.

"Yeah, three hours on the road will do that to you," Gwen chuckled, "oh come on in you guys, can get anything for you?" Gwen let them in.

"Um can I get some water?" Bridgette asked.

"Sure sure, just make yourselves at home," Gwen said as she headed to the kitchen. Geoff and Bridgette took a seat on the couch.

"So Geoff told me Duncan's been staying with you?" Bridgette asked as Gwen handed her a glass of water.

"Yeah, he's been here since the whole breakup," Gwen nodded.

"Really" Bridgette replied, "well we've been hanging with Court since graduation, y'know helping her get ready to go off to college."

"Oh yeah, Duncan told me she's going off to Harvard. Good for her." Gwen replied.

"Yeah, I'm really proud of her, it's like her dream, but she's been a little apprehensive about the whole leaving the country thing. So Duncan told you, what else has he said about the whole thing?" Bridgette asked raising her eyebrow.

"Well he said that the Harvard thing was an issue, mainly that she wanted different things

now that she decided to leave." Gwen replied.

"So speaking of Duncan, where is he?" Geoff said nervously trying to ease some of the tension between the two girls.

"He should be home from work anytime now," Gwen replied with her focus still on Bridgette. As soon as she said that the door opened and Duncan walked in.

"Hey I'm—Bridgette? Geoff?" Duncan rose and eyebrow at the pair sitting on the couch. Gwen got up and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah," she replied, "I told you they were coming yesterday," Gwen narrowed her eyes at him.

"Right, forgot about that. Duncan replied. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Looks like you two have gotten cozy," Bridgette commented.

"Hey Bra, what's up!" Geoff got up and man-hugged his bud.

"Not much dude, not much," Duncan replied with a smile.

Bridgette got up with a frown. She marched over to Duncan and smacked him across the face.

"Ow! What's your problem Malibu?" Duncan yelled holding his cheek.

"Oh what's my problem? What the hell is yours! How could you walk out on Courtney like that?" Bridgette shot back.

"Bridgette what are you talking about?!?" Gwen came up and started yelling in defense of Duncan. "Courtney broke up with him! Isn't that right Duncan/" Gwen looked up at him. He was looking at the floor. "Duncan? She did break up with you, right?" Gwen asked again.

"Well, that may not be exactly true," Duncan said rubbing the back of is head.

"Wait, so you lied to me?" Gwen furrowed her eyebrows in anger.

"No! No, it's not that, it's just not the whole truth." Duncan replied meekly.

"So what is the whole truth?" Gwen asked angrily as she stepped next to Bridgette with her arms crossed. Bridgette crossed her arms as well and the two glared at him. Geoff eyes pitied him for his cross fire between the two girls.

"Dude, what happened?" Geoff asked.

~:~

Courtney looked at her new bed set. She got the blue and brown just like Bridgette suggested. She sighed as she went to her laptop to type out some labels. She was preparing to send some boxes to her aunt in New York, then as soon as she got her dorm accommodations settled, she'd have them transferred to Massachusetts. Courtney sighed as she pressed print and began loading some boxes. She figured out that Duncan was at Gwen's; poor Geoff has no sense of privacy. It made her mad that he'd really sink this low to go hide out at her house, but what made it worse was that Bridgette didn't tell her. Courtney knew she was a little overdramatic when Bridge first arrived, but that did mean she couldn't handle the truth. Courtney decided to leave early for the States, not like anything else would be waiting here, other than her parents. It would just be about three weeks earlier, and it wasn't like she'd be gone forever. Courtney planned to visit for Christmas, so that be good. True she'd miss Thanksgiving at home, but it's not like she couldn't celebrate it elseware. She'd stay in New York with her Aunt for a while, and then she'd leave for the campus. Courtney went to the website again; looking at it always cheered her up. She sighed at she looked at all the classes she'd be taking, the pictures of all the main halls, the library, dorm life, it really was amazing. Courtney smiled at the thought that in just a few weeks, she'd be a Harvard girl.

~:~

"Duncan, just spit it out," Gwen said with a confused look.

"Okay, just to set the record strait, Courtney did wanna break up before she left." Duncan said.

"If she left," Bridgette corrected.

"What kind of guy would I be if I kept her from following her dream, I just didn't want to leave her." Duncan replied.

"So what were you planning to do? Just hop the border to follow her to college? It just doesn't work like that." Bridgette replied with a concerned look.

"You gotta have a plan if you plan to do something as drastic as that, do you even have a passport?" Geoff added.

"I-I just, ugh I just didn't know what to think. She just had this plan all laid out and it didn't even look like I'd fit." Duncan sighed.

"She didn't know what to think either, but she was willing to fit you in, it'd just take a little time, but you left before she had the chance to tell you." Bridgette said.

"What do you mean 'was'?" Duncan asked.

"Duncan! Do you know how many times she tried to get a hold of you? She called, texted, emailed, she even wrote you! But you never replied to anything." Bridgette explained.

"I never got any letters?" Duncan said.

"That's because you never go through your mail Einstein!" Gwen sighed as she pulled the pile of mail out of the drawer. Duncan grabbed it and went through it, and sure enough, there were three letters, and a graduation invite. Duncan opened the first one and scanned it. He saw tear stains on the paper and it pretty much said the same thing Bridgette told him. The second was the same. The third however, which was dated about two weeks ago, was the total opposite.

_Duncan,_

_You've made it clear to me and pretty much everyone else who gives a shit about your ass that you want to be left alone. So congrats, I never want to see your stupid face again. That also means I'll treat you the way you've been treating me over the past few months, so don't waste your time like I did. Just to let you know I am defiantly going to Harvard so thanks for all the support with that. (That was sarcasm just to let you know, cause god knows you wouldn't be able to figure it out.) So I hope you enjoy life of loneliness. Please don't worry about me, not that you would, but just the same; I'll be fine. _

_Good bye Duncan,_

_Courtney_

Duncan stared in shock at the letter, unable for words.

"What does it say?" Gwen asked softly. He handed it to her, and she and Bridgette began to read it.

"Oh my god," Bridgette whispered as she covered her mouth in shock.

"Oh, Duncan, what you'd do," Gwen whispered.

"Duncan, I'm- I'm so sorry, I had no idea that's what she wrote. I thought she was still..." Bridgette trailed off.

"What? That she was still in love with me? After the way I treated her she shouldn't!" Duncan yelled.

"Bridge, why don't we just go," Geoff said.

"Yeah, I'll call you guys tomorrow, maybe we can hang out," Gwen said as she rubbed Duncan's back.

"Okay, lets just go then," Bridgette sighed as the two walked out of the door. As soon as they left, Gwen gave Duncan a hug.

"It's okay, it'll all be okay," she sighed.

"No, it won't be okay until I get Courtney back. I'm sorry Gwen, but I can't be with you," Duncan stepped back, "I can't because I'm still in love with her,"

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**Egad!!! the agony! the irony! the...drama!!!**

**haha thats why cliff hangeres are fun!!! and if you agree, then please, click the little green button at the bottom of the page :)**

**what will happen next? find out in the next dramatic chapter!!!!  
**


	3. Memories of a better time

**hey it's been an week or two since i've posted anything and for that i appologize. so i hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. also i wanna thank you guys for all the reviews i've gotten on this story 33. please R&R **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than this amazing plotline....i can't even afford to own the computer and keyboard this story was made from ;( boo**

**~L.D.**

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"…_I'm still in love with her"  
_

Duncan had all his stuff together; he made the decision to leave Gwen's. Gwen seemed sad about it, but she knew this was best for him. Last night was the last night Duncan resided on her couch.

''So I guess this is good bye for now,'' Duncan said as he stood by the door.

''Yeah, well call me when you get there,'' Gwen sighed as she looked at him sadly.

''Look Gwen, I never meant to hurt you, really, you're like my best friend, it's just...'' Duncan started.

''Duncan, its fine,'' Gwen smiled. ''Go; go get your woman back.''

Duncan smiled. They hugged and Duncan picked up his duffle. ''I'll call when I get to Toronto.'' he said as he walked out.

''Good luck!'' she waved ''I hope you get all you've wanted.'' she whispered as he pulled out of the lot.

Duncan pulled out his phone as he drove onto the highway. He was going to meet Geoff and Bridgette in Toronto.

''Geoff? Hey I just got on the road.'' Duncan said into his blackberry. Courtney had gotten it for him for Christmas.

''Sweet dude, okay I'll text you the directions to our hotel. Bridgette's going over to Courtney's to talk to her.'' Geoff's voice beamed from the phone.

''Okay, I'll see you in a bit.'' Duncan replied as he hit end on his phone. He threw the phone on the passenger seat. Duncan thought about what he was going to say. First he would probably say something about him being an asshole and an idiot. Then he'll go on to something like he made a big mistake. As much planning as Duncan did, he was still on edge about confronting Courtney after these few months

~:~

''Flight 23 to New York now boarding at gate 7,'' a cheerful voice echoed from the intercom. Courtney looked up from the book she was reading. She stood up and grabbed her plaid tote and headed to the gate. She checked in and sat back down to wait to board her plane. She got out her Iphone and decided to turn it off before the flight. Her fingers began to drum on her leg as she anxiously waited to board her flight. ''First class, now boarding.'' the lady echoed from the speakers. ''Guess that's me,'' Courtney sighed, and picked up her bag to board her plane.

~:~

''So do you know what you're gonna say?'' Bridgette questioned Duncan a few minutes after he arrived at their hotel.

''Yeah yeah I've got an idea, don't worry about it Blondie.'' Duncan said as he leaned against the door.

''Dude, she's right, you gotta do this perfect, being as you royally screwed up.'' Geoff chuckled.

''I know okay, it's just I'm not too good at this romantic stuff.'' Duncan sighed.

''Just, tell her the truth, what you really feel.'' Bridgette said.

''Okay, hey have you talked to her recently?'' Duncan asked.

''Not since we left, she thinks we're in Vancouver. She'd kill me if she knew I was doing this for you.'' Bridgette said.

''Great,'' he rolled his eyes.

''Dude you'll be fine,'' Geoff smiled, ''she wants you, she always did.'' Duncan smirked and Bridgette rolled her eyes.

''Okay enough pep talk, you ready badass?'' Bridgette asked grabbing her bag.

''Badass?'' Duncan raised his eyebrow.

''Yeah, you give everyone else nicknames so now I'm giving you one,'' she smirked. ''Whatever Blondie, lets bounce.'' he said.

''I'll be back soon babe,'' Bridgette smiled and gave Geoff a kiss on the cheek. Duncan rolled his eyes and the two walked out of the hotel room.

''Y'know I can get to her house perfectly fine without you.'' Duncan said as they got in his car.

''Yeah but knowing Courtney, she's gonna be pretty pissed to see you, so I'm coming mostly for damage control.'' Bridgette said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

''Look, I know we don't really get along, but I just wanna say thanks for all you're doing to get me and court back together.'' Duncan sighed.

''I'm not doing it for you,'' Bridgette snapped back. Duncan looked up at her and furrowed his eyebrow. ''I'm doing it for Courtney, as much as I dislike you, she's really happy with you. I just want the best for her.'' Bridgette said looking out the window. Duncan was silent and just drove as fast as he could. After a prolonged silence, they finally came to Courtney's house.

''Guess this is it,'' Duncan mumbled as the two got out of the car. Bridgette walked up to the house and knocked on the door.

''Bridgette,'' Mrs. Allen smiled. ''And Duncan...'' she frowned and raised her eyebrow. ''Mrs. Allen, duncan's here to talk to Courtney.'' Bridgette said.

''I'm sorry guys but you can't,'' Shannon frowned.

''Look Mrs. Allen, I know I screwed up, bad, and I need to apologize to her. I have to fix this, I love her.'' Duncan said urgently. Shannon gave him a sympathetic smile.

''Look I wish I could but I can't, she's not here.'' she explained.

"When is she gonna be back?" Bridgette asked.

"A few months I guess, depends when she wants to visit." Shannon shrugged.

''Wh-what?'' Bridgette stuttered.

''She left for the states early, she's staying with her aunt in new York. I thought you knew Bridgette?'' she said.

''No this is the first I've heard of it,'' Bridgette sighed.

''Well I don't know what else to tell you guys,'' Shannon frowned. Bridgette and Duncan looked at each other with confusion and distress.

''Well I left some stuff in her room, would it be okay if I go get it?'' Bridgette asked.

''Of course sweetheart, just go ahead and get them.'' she smiled.

''Okay I'm going back to the car,'' Duncan mumbled.

Bridgette walked into the house and walked up the stairs. She went into Courtney's room and stared at the emptiness. Everything that made it Courtney's room was gone. The pictures, her laptop, the little plastic bins she kept all her papers, her ipod and the big white dock she kept it on, her flowered throw blanket, it was all gone. All that was left was a vacant bedroom filled with old furniture. Bridgette spotted the tote bag and pillow she left here. It was in a neat little bundle on the bed. She walked over to get it when she saw an envelope resting on top. She picked up the letter and read it to herself.

Bridgette,  
if you're reading this, I'm guessing you came back to get your stuff. I've made the decision to leave early to get started on my new life. I'm sorry if I hurt you by leaving without telling you, I just didn't want to worry you. I've felt overly dependant on you these past few months and I don't like that feeling. Don't get me wrong I love being with you, I just don't want us to hold each other down. I hope you enjoyed seeing everyone, including Gwen and Duncan, yeah I knew. Let's just say Geoff isn't the best person to depend on for keeping quiet, no offense. So if you see Duncan again, tell him I don't wish to speak to him again. But he doesn't matter anymore, bridge you've been great to me, no amazing, and you're like my best friend, and I hope we can still be that. Its just time I leave, sitting here, waiting for my life to start just takes too long. The good thing is now we'll be closer to each other. Maybe I can visit you during winter break, or you can visit me, I hear it's beautiful in the winter there. My e-mail's still the same, so I'll email you when I get my new cell number and address Love always,  
Courtney.  
email (In case you forgot,): .com

Bridgette chuckled at her email. Only Courtney would make her screen name her actual name. Bridgette sighed as she folded the letter and put it in her bag. Bridgette began to walk out when she stopped. She looked back at the barren room one last time, before she sighed and walked out

~:~

Duncan got in the car and slammed the door. He shoved The key into the ignition and turned on the radio. His hand shuffled for his ipod when he found a thick book under the seat. He picked it up and brushed the raised letters on the cover. ''Total Drama Island Scrapbook,'' Geoff had put so much time in making these stupid things for everyone. Duncan opened it and saw the group picture of them all, before they fell in the water of course. He turned the page and it was a bunch of pictures of all the guys, them messing around in the cabin, him and Geoff messing with Harold, ''that was some good times,'' Duncan chuckled.

"what was?" Bridgette asked climbing into the car.

"Oh, I found that scrapbook Geoff made for me," Duncan said, showing her a picture of the bass boys. She smiled,

"Yeah, those were the best," she said softly brushing her fingers over a picture of Geoff, DJ, and Duncan. He turned the page to pictures of the cliff diving and the sleep off. they both chuckled at the picture of Cody and Noah asleep together. They flipped through the pages when they came to a set of pages of couples and friends. There was a Katie and Sadie page, Gwen and Trent, Geoff and Bridgette, DJ and Bunny, Izzy and Owen, Lindsey Beth and Heather, they came to the Duncan and Courtney page. Duncan's hand stopped Bridgette from turning the page.

"wait, I wanna look" Duncan said. Bridgette looked at him as he smiled at one of the pictures. Courtney was holding his hand as he looked petrified faced in front of a cardboard Celine Dion. " I remember that day, she was right there for me. When her hand was in mine, I knew that she really cared about me," Duncan said looking sadly at the picture.

"there's the picture of your guy's first kiss," Bridgette smiled pointed to their kiss on the porch.

"Yeah, her mouth tasted pretty rank," Duncan chuckled.

"Right, forgot about her puking before," Bridgette smiled, "there you are at the camping trip, God that was hilarious. She made such a big deal about falling asleep on you, you'd think she'd got an STD from touching you," Bridgette smiled.

"God I'm gonna miss her," Duncan said.

"Duncan, we'll find her, don't worry." Bridgette said as she put her hand on his.

He looked up at her and she smiled at him. He smiled back,

"I thought you didn't like me?"

"I still don't, but even you don't deserve to be miserable," she smiled. She gave him a hug and he hugged back.

"So I say we take a little road trip," Duncan deviously smiled and they broke apart,

"road trip?" Bridgette raised her eyebrow.

"yeah," he smiled.

"now?!?" Bridgette asked.

"no not now! All our stuff's back at the hotel, including Geoff," He chuckled.

"Well then let's get back to the hotel before we decide on anything," Bridgette said.

"I'm on it Blondie!" Duncan restarted the car and pulled out of the drive way.

~:~

"Road trip? Sweet! That's like a party on wheels!" Geoff high fived Duncan. Bridgette rolled her eyes, again.

"Oh, crap, I forgot to call Gwen," Duncan said as he pulled out his phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?" her voice said from the speaker.

"hey we just got back from Courtney's house," Duncan said.

"Well how'd it go Casanova?" she replied.

"Well she apparently left for New York this morning, So we're gonna go on a little road trip to the Big Apple," He said.

"Oh really? That's weird, cause I'm going down there for the fall." She said.

"wait what?" he asked.

"I'm gonna transfer from the community college here to the art institute," she said happily.

"that's great! Hey, you should come with us!" he said.

"Me? no I don't wanna impose," she said.

"Geez Gwen I lived on your couch for like three months, it's no problem. And, Geoff said that he was talking to Trent and apparently he's in that area," Duncan smiled.

"Really? Well I mean if you insist," she giggled.

"yeah, you should. I'll have Geoff text you the directions and you can drive here today." Duncan said as he smiled at Geoff.

"Duncan, I can't just leave today. I've gotta talk to my landlord and I've to pack. Not to mention where are we supposed to live when we get there?" Gwen said.

"Eh we'll figure it out as we go along, just get you butt over here." Duncan said.

"Fine, I'll try to get there either tonight or tomorrow morning." Gwen sighed and hung up.

"okay, we got Gwen!" Duncan and Geoff pounded fists.

"Whatever," Bridgette rolled her eyes, "she's right Duncan, we need somewhat of a plan."

"well we'll all caravan down there in our cars, and when we get to New York, you guys can break off and go home." Duncan shrugged.

"Well that's all fine and dandy but you and Gwen still need a passport." Bridgette said putting her hands on her hips.

"Well doesn't Gwen get one of those VISA thingies for going to school in the US?" Duncan asked.

"yes but she still needs a passport, and so do you. And those things take like six weeks to get.," Bridgette sighed.

"Six weeks?" Duncan's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, and me and Geoff don't have that kind of time, we can stay for about two weeks but then we need to go home. And we have to fly cause the car's a rental." Bridgette said.

"Well that sucks," Duncan frowned.

"Man! I really wanted to go on a road trip!" Geoff whined.

"Geoff, we have to go home," Bridgette glared at him.

"Actually you have to go home," Geoff said.

"Right cause you don't have a job to get back to," Bridgette rolled her eyes.

"Hey it's not my fault my boss fired me." Geoff frowned.

"Actually Geoff, it is," Bridgette glared at him.

"Well if I screw everything up, then maybe you should go home alone," Geoff folded his arms.

"Maybe I should! I don't have time to baby sit anyways," Bridgette folded her arms also.

"Well fine Bridge, I'll hang out with Duncan then!"

"Fine, you have fun while I go home and work!"

"I will!"

"Fine!" Bridgette stormed out of the room.

"Should I be worried?" Duncan asked.

"No, we do this a lot," Geoff shrugged.

"Okay…" Duncan said with a weird face. Just then Bridgette walked back in the room.

"I'm sorry babe for overreacting, if you wanna go then go ahead," she ran up to Geoff and hugged him.

"No I'm sorry, I shouldn't get mad at you like that, you know you're my girl right?" Geoff held her.

"Of course," she smiled. The two continued into an urgent makeout session.

"Okay, you two are grossing me out, I'll see you in a bit," Duncan said after making a few gagging faces. Duncan walked out of the room and walked down the stairs. He went out to his car and sat on the hood. He laid back and looked up at the sky.

"Wherever you are," he sighed, "I'm going to find you Court,"


	4. Change

**Sorry about the long update, I promise to follow up a bit quicker. So yes this is the epic fourth chapter of Fall to Pieces. It's not a lot of duh duh dun moments, just something to move the storyline, although there is some drama and excitement. Hope you all enjoy!**

"We'll be arriving in new York in about five minutes. Please fasten your seatbelts and secure all carry ons" a flight attendants bright voice bellowed from the speakers.

Courtney looked up from her book on human sociology and picked up her bag protectively. Courtney was really excited to be in New York. She was finally departing from the depression that's been hanging over her head the past few months, and her Aunt Holly was the perfect escape for a few weeks before she headed to Massachusetts. Her dad put a few thousand dollars in her account to buy a car for a going away gift. Her mother insisted on completely redoing her wardrobe for her supposed new start on life. Despite Courtney's pleas, all of the olive crop pants and sweater vests were shipped off to the nearest Salvation Army. Her new wardrobe was proficient with skinny jeans, plaid blazers and trench coats. Her parents were bound to ensure their daughter had the best of the best, or at least they tried to make sure they were able to still be in her life even if she was thousands of miles away. The plane began to land and Courtney smiled as she looked out the window. The plane finally landed and Courtney got her stuff together. She walked off the plane slowly, savoring every moment. She smiled as she saw a middle aged woman waving franticly. She had blond hair, brown eyes like hers and slightly tan skin, but not as dark as hers.

"Courtney!" the woman smiled and stretched out her arms.

"Hey Aunt Holly!" Courtney smiled as she ran up and hugged her.

"Psh please sweetheart, call me Holly. So what's up? I love the new look, you look great in skinnies," holly smiled.

Courtney looked at her outfit, she was wearing dark blue skinny jeans, a white ruffled button up blouse and a black pinstripe cropped vest with a channel necklace. She also had a pair of black shaggy boots to top off her new style. "Yeah mom insisted I change the class president look. " Courtney smiled.

"Well that's always good. Change is good." Holly said.

"Yeah it is," Courtney smiled. "Well c'mon, let's get your stuff and get outta here." Holly smiled,

"I don't know about you but I'm starving. I know this great coffee shop a little while from here and it's great for sandwiches." Holly and Courtney began walking to the baggage terminal.

"You read my mind. I'm starving and coffee and sandwiches sound great." Courtney smiled as they waited by the baggage claim. Courtney spotted her Louis Vutton suitcase and makeup bag. She grabbed them off the electric belt and holly smiled.

"Should have known you'd leave home in designer suitcases," Holly chucked as the two left the baggage claim.

"What do you mean?" Courtney asked with a frown.

"Ever since you were little, I could tell you would grow up to be just like your mom." Holly smiled.

"Is that a bad thing?" Courtney asked still confused.

"Of course not. Ever since me and your mom were little, we were completely opposite, while your mom was shy and an introvert, I was about as outgoing as they come. She was a stickler for manners and rules and such, I was a free spirit and caused headaches to most of the adult who knew me. The one thing I always knew was your mom was, err is bent on having the best, whether it be her things to her quality of life to her grades or boyfriends for that matter. And she always made sure you had it." Holly smiled.

"I'm not completely like her; I mean I'm certainly not shy." Courtney smiled.

"Oh yes you get that attitude of yours from your father," holly smiled. "So you ready to go?"

"Yeah let's get outta here," Courtney and holly headed out the doors of  
the airport.

"So Hun, your mom told me you've been in a funk for the past few months. What's up with you?" holly asked as they packed her bags in Holly's VW bug.

"Um I don't really like to talk about it" Courtney sighed.

Holly looked at her suddenly depressed niece. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

Courtney wiped her eyes. "I thought I was," she sniffed as the two sat in holly's car.

"What happened to you? This isn't like you."

"I know, I can't help it. Duncan broke up with me after I told him I was leaving." Courtney sniffled again.

"Duncan…he's that guy from the reality show, right?" Holly asked as she pulled out of the airport parking lot.

"Yeah, he was," Courtney replied looking out the window.

"Well maybe it's time you explore your new surroundings, take a break from relationships and just have fun. You're single and ready to mingle." Holly concluded, trying not to get Courtney overly emotional.

Courtney wiped one last stray tear, "yeah, you're right. Let the bastard wonder how I'm doing," she giggled sadly.

"That's my girl," Holly chuckled.

~:~

"You're crazy Geoff! That's the wrong fuckin highway!" Duncan yelled pointing at the map.

"Well you told me to turn here!" Geoff yelled looking at him.

"Geoff, can you please keep your eyes on the road." Bridgette whined.

"I can't believe I agreed to do this," Gwen growled.

"Well what else do you have to do in that shithole you call home?" Duncan rolled his eyes still trying to find where they were supposed to be.

"Touché," Gwen replied, "Hey lemme see the IPod," Gwen said as Duncan passed back his beat up black IPod video that was hooked up to the radio in Geoff's car.

"So whose bright idea was it to only take one car?" Bridgette groaned.

"Well I don't have a car, sold it for rent," Gwen explained, "And Duncan left his car at his parent's house."

"I knew that, I asked why?" Bridgette rolled her eyes.

"I don't plan on going back to that place," Duncan growled.

"Y'know what?" Geoff piped in, "I say it's time for lunch."

~:~

Holly and Courtney finally made it to Manhattan. Holly eventually found parking in one of the huge parking garages. Then they walked for a bit until they came to a little café.

"Here we are, I love this place. They have local musicians come in and play while people eat." The pair walked in and Holly smiled as they walked up to the counter. "Oh I love the guy playing today, he's just adorable."

"And he's a sweet heart," the girl at the counter smiled as her and Holly gazed at the boy.

"Since when are you a cougar?" Courtney giggled as she turned at looked at him singing. He had brown shaggy hair, green eyes, and a smile that could break any girl's heart. Courtney scrunched her eyebrows. There was something familiar about the boy that Courtney just couldn't put her finger on.

"Wha-what was his name again, its Trevor right?" holly asked.

"Trent actually," the lady at the counter corrected. Courtney's eyes went wide as she looked at him.

"Oh my god!" Courtney said as she turned around quickly.

"Hun what's wrong?" holly asked after she ordered sandwiches and patted for them.

"I know him, he was on total drama island with me," she said quietly.

"Oh yeah! I knew I recognized you!" the lady at the counter said. "My little sister and I loved that show! You're Courtney right?"

"Yeah," Courtney blushed.

"I know its lame, but uh can I get an autograph? You're my sister's favorite." she smiled.

"Of course," Courtney smiled taking a paper and pen from the lady.

"Who do I make it out to?"

"Shannon,"

"Okay," Courtney smiled, "here you go, one autograph to Shannon," Courtney handed here the paper.

"Thank you so much! Your lattes are done and we'll bring you the sandwiches. Just take a seat at any of the tables." the lady said handed the drinks to Courtney and Holly. They took a seat at one of the table near the front.

"So does that happen often? The autograph thing?" Holly asked as they sipped their lattes.

"Not as much anymore," Courtney replied, "but it's defiantly more proficient back home, being as it's a Canadian show," she smiled. They watched as Trent played his songs to the small but adoring croud.

"Here you go Miss Courtney!" the star struck lady from before put their sandwiches on the table. Courtney saw Trent's eyes dart to her as he heard her name. His eyes went wide when he recognized and tripped over his lyrics in surprise. She gave him a small wave and giggled. He smiled and kept playing his song. He finished and they all clapped and he waved to them as he stepped off the stage. He walked over to her table and smiled.

"Courtney Allen, well I certainly haven't seen you in a while." he smiled.

"Well I could say the same for you." she smiled sipping her latte.

"So what brings you to the Big Apple?" Trent asked taking a seat at their table.

"Oh just visiting some family before I go off to school in Massachusetts." Courtney said referring to her Aunt.

"Massachusetts, huh; you're not referring to Harvard are you?" He raised his eyebrow.

"I am, got a full scholarship actually." She smiled.

"Wow, Harvard, Congrats, that's pretty amazing." He smiled.

"Thank you," she replied taking another sip of her drink.

"So, have you kept in touch with anyone from the show?" He asked.

"Well Geoff and Bridgette just came up to visit me during spring break, and I guess Duncan and Gwen talked a lot. They're dating now I guess or so I hear." She said oh so non chalantly while messing with her napkin.

"I think I'm gonna go to the ladies room, I'll let you two catch up," Holly said quickly leaving the table.

"Wait, so you and Duncan?" Trent asked confused.

"The asshole dumped me," she huffed, "right after I got my acceptance letter."

"Wow, we all thought, uh never mind." Trent chuckled nervously.

"What? That I'd be the one to dump his pathetic ass? Well I didn't and I guess shame on me cause he dumped me cause I actually was being rational about the whole me leaving to a different country situation." Courtney glared get hysterical by the minute.

"Uh, yeah." Trent replied awkwardly. "You okay,"

"Just peachy," she growled gritting her teeth.

"O-Kaay," Trent said looking at the napkin that Courtney just mutilated.

"So," Courtney exhaled. "What's up with you?"

"Well after school I flew out here to pursue my music career, but so far I've been playing at cafés and shops like this." Trent sighed.

"Oh," Courtney frowned.

"Yeah, and I've been able to make rent as a pizza delivery guy at Mario's down the street." Trent sighed.

"Wow, that sucks," Courtney said.

"Yep, but I don't mind that much. I mean, I'm still playing music so as long as that hold up then I'll be fine." Trent said messing with a piece of Courtney's shredded napkin.

"Yeah, but what about your future?" Courtney asked worriedly.

"Eh, I've never been one to plan out my life. I just take it day by day," Trent smiled.

"I could never do that." Courtney chuckled. "Waay too stressful."

"Yeah I know you couldn't. Some things never change right?" Trent said

"Haha yeah," Courtney giggled nervously while circling her mug with her fingertip.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Trent spoke up,

"So Courtney, are you gonna be in town this Friday?"

"Yeah, I don't leave until the last week in August." Courtney replied.

"Well would you like to join me then for dinner and a movie?" Trent asked.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." Courtney smiled. Holly walked out then and sat back down.

"Well I better let you ladies finish your lunch." Trent said standing up. "It was nice meeting you," Trent said shaking Holly's hand. "And Court? How about I meet you here around 7?"

"Sounds great," Courtney smiled Trent smiled before walking back to his guitar.

~:~

"Okay, so once we turn on Grand, we take that highway to get to the border," Duncan said pointing to the map. Geoff sat, chewing on a French fry thoughtfully. The four decided to stop at a McDonalds and were sitting inside looking at the map.

"I'm gonna get a refill on my Dr. Pepper before we head out," Gwen said after sucking on her drink.

"So Duncan, what do you plan on doing once we get to New York?" Bridgette asked the punk thoughtfully.

"Well, I probably need to get an apartment, y'know for somewhere to stay. Gwen's offering to split rent with me." Duncan replied taking a sip from his Coke.

"Okay, but what about Courtney?" Bridgette asked. Duncan was silent. "If you want, I've got the phone number of Courtney's Aunt Holly, that's who she's supposed to be staying with for the time being," Bridgette replied.

Duncan smiled, "and I thought you didn't like me," he smirked taking the piece of paper with the phone number on it.

"Well like I said before, you're the best thing for Courtney," Bridgette rolled her eyes.

"What about Courtney?" Gwen said plopping down next to Duncan.

"Never mind," Bridgette sighed. Gwen looked at Duncan and he just shrugged.

"So let's get on the road!" Geoff yelled while pumping his fists.

"Calm down cowboy, I wanna pick up some water before we leave." Bridgette giggled putting her hand on her boyfriends shoulder.

The four walked into the mini mart at the truck stop. Bridgette went to the drink section, Gwen headed to the bathroom, and Geoff and Duncan decided to look around.

"Hey Geoff, look it's a Maple Leafs hat!" Duncan smiled putting on one of the many baseball caps.

"Hey let's see who can stack the most hats on their head!" Geoff said grabbing a bunch of the hat and stacking them on his head over his cowboy hat.

"You're on!" Duncan yelled stacking more hats on top of the Toronto Maple Leafs hat.

"Wow, now I know how the Cat in the Hat feels," Geoff said trying to balance 7 hats on his head.

"How many do you got?" Duncan asked attempting 6.

"Uh 7 with my lucky hat." Geoff replied sticking his tongue out for balance.

"You're hat doesn't count!" Duncan replied waving his arms.

"It's still a hat dude," Geoff replied.

"What are you two doing?" Bridgette and Gwen asked simultaneously. The guys turned around to face them, dropping all the hats on the floor.

"Hat stacking contest?" Geoff smiled.

"Well it was," Duncan said staring at the hats all over the floor.

Bridgette rolled her eyes, "Pick those up while we check out," she glared at the boys.

"Fine, Mom," Duncan mumbled while they began collecting the hats.

**Next chapter:**

**The Gang finally makes it to The States; Courtney and Trent's Date; Courtney gets ready for her move to Harvard; and a few other surprises (GxT hint hint)**

**Please Review!!! :) ~Ren-Ki aka L.D.**


	5. Not Much of a Garden

**So yes this is the fifth chapter of Fall To Pieces!!! i've been able to write more now that my year is winding down in terms of school stuff. hope you like, sorry if it's a little chapter, its mostly a filler chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters, or Madison Square Garden.....I do own an amazing Cheerleader Build A Bear Bunny named Dolli :3**

* * *

Duncan sighed as he carved something into the table at the Motel 6 they were staying at.

"Duncan, please don't destroy the furniture, we don't have money to pay for damage," Gwen sighed as she dropped on one of the beds in the room."

"Sounding like her doesn't make me feel better," Duncan replied still carving a skull into the table.

"Wasn't trying to," She replied picking up a copy of the phone book. "What do you wanna eat?"

"I don't know, why can't we just order room service?" Duncan rolled his eyes and intently carved one of the eyes.

"It's Motel 6 Einstein, there is no room service."Gwen sighed and got up. She grabbed his hand and took the knife from him. She folded it up and shoved it into her pocket. "God you're like a child sometimes," she growled as she sat back on her bed. Duncan glared at her and laid down on the other bed.

"Actually I'm not that hungry," Duncan growled back and turned to face the wall.

"Pouting about it won't make her come back," Gwen replied softly. He was silent. "I don't know about you, but I'm ordering a pepperoni pizza," Gwen said picking up the phone.

"Whatever," He mumbled. She stared at him as she waited for the Dominos Guy to pick up.

"Oh yeah I'd like to order one large pepperoni, and a 2 liter of Coke, yeah I'll pay with cash, uh do you deliver? Uh Motel 6? Room 235, okay that's fine, thank you." She hung up the phone. "Look you gotta stop doing this to yourself, Duncan." Gwen sighed looking at him.

"I'm not doing anything," He replied.

"Blaming yourself? It wasn't your entire fault." Gwen said.

"But it certainly wasn't not my fault!" Duncan yelled sitting up.

"Look the bottom line is you both messed up, Courtney wasn't innocent here." Gwen replied with a frown.

"But she apologized, just for me to be a total ass and ignore it," Duncan sighed, his eyes glassy from hurt, anger and sadness.

"So what? You were and asshole, that's pretty normal for you. But you're here, trying to fix it. If it's meant to be, then it'll happen. No reason to be all mopey just yet." Gwen said. Duncan looked up at her.

"So what do I do now?" Duncan asked.

"You stop acting like you're about to die, you eat pizza, get some sleep, and tomorrow we go find an apartment and enjoy our new adventure in New York." Gwen smiled. Duncan smiled back. He turned on the TV and found a channel playing Summer Camp of Doom.  
The two smiled and began to watch the slasher.

~:~

"So did you like the movie?" Trent asked Courtney as they walked out of the theater.

"It was good, I've been wanting to see that for a while," Courtney smiled as they strolled down Madison Avenue. "So this is the world famous Madison Square Garden?"

"Yep, I've always imagined myself playing here at a sold out concert," Trent chuckled.

"Not much of a garden," Courtney observed.

"Yeah I think garden is a loosely used term," He replied, "Hey do you want a hot dog? They're some of the best here,"

"Uh sure," She replied. They walked up to one of the carts and Trent ordered them two hot dogs with ketchup and mustard. He handed one to Courtney and smiled. They kept walking until they made it to Central Park. They found a seat on one of the benches.

"This has been nice, Trent," Courtney smiled at him

"Well I aim to please," He smiled back. They were silent for a while.

"I can't do this!" Courtney blurted out. She covered her mouth instantly and looked at Trent's shocked face. "I mean….uh… look Trent you're a nice guy but…." Courtney started.

"We don't really work that well," Trent replied. She looked at him

"Uh I was actually gonna say that I wasn't ready to date yet," Courtney said.

"Oh…" Trent said awkwardly then looked away.

"But you're right," Courtney added, "I don't really get along with guys like you too much, no offense."

"Seriously?" Trent asked looked back at her. She nodded with a smile. "Good," He sighed "cause I thought I was doing something wrong," He chuckled nervously.

"Wanna just call it a night?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, c'mon I'll share a cab with you back to your building," He smiled and got up. They walked out of the park.

"So you leave for Harvard next week?" Trent asked as he began to wave a cab.

"Actually Frosh week starts on Monday, so my Aunt's taking me down tomorrow, and we're gonna go car shopping while we're up there." Courtney explained.

"Hmn that's cool," He replied as they got into the yellow car. "So Court, I know this is kinda a personal question but...do you regret leaving home?" Trent asked as the car began to take off.

"Sometimes, I mean I miss my parents but, it was just time to leave, start a new chapter." Courtney replied.

"What about Duncan? I mean what went down between you two?" Trent asked. The car came to a halt as they hit some traffic.

Courtney was silent. For the past two weeks she'd been in New York, she'd made it a point not to think of Duncan. They were at a complete stop and the sound of cursing taxi drivers and honking horns filled the air.

"Look never mind, I didn't mean to bring him up if you're not ready to talk about it," Trent replied.

"N-no," Courtney stammered, "I-I can't let him ruin my life anymore," she breathed. "It all started with the letter from Harvard…'

~:~

Duncan shoved a piece of pizza in his mouth and laughed at the dude who was being pushed into the bonfire.

"So are you done pouting for the night?" Gwen chuckled.

"Shut up," He said with pizza stuffed in his mouth.

"So I was looking at the ads in the Times, and I found a few places in the West side of Manhattan that look pretty cheap." Gwen said as she held up a copy of the New York Times.

"We could go house hunting tomorrow," Duncan replied. "We could take a cab down there and look around."

"So we should probably look around for some jobs," Gwen said still looking at the ads.

"Yeah probably,' Duncan said with his attention at the TV.

"I was thinking about enrolling in some art classes, y'know maybe like an art and business class." Gwen added.

"That's cool," Duncan took another piece of pizza.

"So do you have a plan? Y'know for the future?" Gwen asked.

"Nope," Duncan replied with more pizza in his mouth.

"Hmn," Gwen nodded and continued her search in the wanted ads.

"So I'm tired, I'm gonna crash," Duncan said wiping his hands on the bed and turning off the TV.

"Should we call Geoff and Bridgette? Let'em know we got in okay?" Gwen asked putting the newspaper back on the ground.

"Nah, they've probably settled in a hotel by now, and at this hour who knows what they're up to," Duncan chuckled. Bridgette and Geoff were on their way back to Florida. "We can call them tomorrow morning before we leave."

"Okay then," Gwen said as she turned out the light. "Night Duncan,"

"Night Gwen,"

~:~

"Wow," Trent said after hearing the story of the mess break up.

"Yeah, haven't seen him ever since," Courtney sighed, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I tried calling, texting, emailing him to try and fix it, but he never replied or answered. I even resorted to writing letters to his parents house, hoping they'd get forwarded somewhere to him but still no reply. It was Geoff's big mouth that I found out he was living with Gwen. After that I just couldn't take staying there. So I got on a plane and came here." Courtney had tears running down both her cheeks.

"You didn't deserve to be treated like that," Trent sighed.

"You say that like your break up wasn't like that," She chuckled sadly.

"I was never that mean to Gwen," Trent defended.

"Yeah but I'm pretty sure you weren't willing to hear her explanation," She replied. Trent was the silent one this time. "You automatically made your assumptions about the situation without a single word from Gwen. True what she did was pretty rotten and on the show I agreed with you. But that was before I experienced what she did. I still don't like her but I certainly can see her view of things." Courtney wiped the tears from her face as the cab finally made it to her building.

She got out with Trent and they paid the cab driver. They both stood under the starless night sky, lights from the city blaring all over.

"Don't be like him, give Gwen a second chance. I bet she'd take it." Courtney smiled "thanks for the movie and the hot dog, Good night Trent," She kissed him in the cheek and left him in the night.

Trent watched her walk back into the building and turned to leave. He pulled out his phone and scrolled down the list. He pressed call and waited for someone to pick up. He frowned as he got the voicemail and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. Then he shuffled away to his apartment down the street.

* * *

**  
**

**so yeah this is my next chapter....sorry if some of the details are off......i have yet to actually visit new york despite my wanting to......yeah its a little short but i wrote it in the past hour and a half so better this than nothing. Please Review!!!!!!**

Next Chapter:  
Courtney moves into her new room at Harvard and meets her roommate, Duncan and Gwen buy an apartment, and courtney meets a TDI/A Uber-fan


	6. Boxes

**Lauren: Okay so I feel like a total loser for not updating(and I know I always say that) *ducks for the flying tomatoes* so instead of me apologizing, I'm going to make it better by having Puck from glee apologize for me**

**Puck: uh she's really sorry. Is that good? Lauren?**

**Lauren: *drooling* such pretty arms….**

**Puck: Uh okay then, can someone get her off of me? Rachel?**

**Rachel: *sighs dreamily while caressing his arm* I love his arms**

**Puck: okay….uh Lauren doesn't own TDI/A, it's characters, Glee, or me and Rachel. And Truthfully I'm glad for it. *gives Lauren a creeped out look***

**Lauren: *still drooling***

**Rachel: mhmn…..**

**Puck: O.o**

**

* * *

**

Courtney dragged the last of multiple bags and boxes into her dorm. She was sad to leave Holly back in New York, but it was time to move on. And now she was Courtney, the full time Harvard student. She began unpacking her boxes when the door knob began to jiggle. Courtney turned to see a tall lanky red head walk in with a Starbucks.

"Oh Hi, you must be Courtney," She smiled thrusting out a hand.

"And you must be Madison, my roommate?" Courtney shook her hand, assuming she was the owner of the other things on the other side of the room.

"Yeah, but you can call me Maddie," she smiled. She had curly hair that was more auburn than red as Courtney looked at it again. It was pulled up in a messy bun and a few stray curls fell framing her face. She had a few freckles spotting her nose like Courtney's, but her skin was much paler. She wore blue, square glasses over her green eyes and had a small smile across her face. She wore a pair of blue skinny jeans and a large sweatshirt. Courtney's eyes stopped at her shoes, they were a pair of red Converse, high tops no less.

"So Courtney is it?" She scrunched her nose and smiled, making her green eyes sparkle. "Um do you want some help unpacking? Or I can leave if you wanna be alone…"

"No, actually another set of hands would be nice," Courtney smiled.

"Cool," She smiled and the two began unpacking all of Courtney's stuff.

"Wow…you have a lot of stuff," Maddie sighed and sunk to the ground, leaning against Courtney's bed. Courtney sunk next to her.

"Yeah guess I didn't really pack that well," Courtney sighed picking up another empty picture frame and throwing onto the bed.

They both sighed when Maddie's pocket vibrated and she pulled out her Iphone.

"Hey, you hungry?" She asked looking at a text.

"Yeah I am actually," Courtney smiled.

"Cool cause some people want to meet us for some food at this dinner down the street." Maddie replied.

"Wait, what do you mean some people?" Courtney asked suspiciously.

"Friends of mine," She chuckled.

"Oh…" Courtney replied.

"C'mon, it'll be fun," Maddie stood up.

"Wait, how do you know them?" Courtney asked getting up also.

"Well there's my cousin Stephanie, and this guy, Dylan and his best friend Derrick. Dylan and Derrick are incoming freshman, Stephanie met Dylan over a summer internship she had at a business firm last summer. I met him a while ago, and we met Derrick during summer orientation. How they both got into Harvard Law is a mystery. It probably had something to do with Dylan's dad being an alumni, and since they're attached to the hip, he pulled some strings for Derrick. " Maddie said looking in the mirror. She pulled her bun out, tossed her hair a bit, then picked up a clip and clipped it back up.

"Wait, so they're not dumb are they?" Courtney gave her a strange look.

"Course not. Derrick's like a genius and Dylan's a math and science whiz. Not to mention they were raised in upper east side's private schools. Both of their families are loaded and Dylan's are total Blue Bloods."

"So they're from New York?" Courtney asked

"Yeah, all four of us are. Amazingly we all are from Upper East Side, Manhattan." Maddie chuckled after plopping on her bed.

"I actually just got done visiting my Aunt in New York," Courtney replied.

"Seriously? Where?" Maddie asked.

"Um I'm not really sure, it was kinda urbany I guess," Courtney replied.

"Well that narrows it down." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Well it had like a bunch of café's and art galleries. My Aunt is a painter." Courtney replied.

"Hmn artsy….was it near NYU?" Maddie asked

"Um I think so," Courtney replied.

"East Village most likely. Y'know RENT." Courtney raised her eyebrow. "None of this is ringing a bell to you is it?" Maddie asked.

"Not really, before this summer I'd only been to the states one other time, and we went to my cousin's wedding in Michigan."

"The states? Where are you from?" Maddie gave a confused smile.

"Uh, Toronto, Canada?" Courtney replied.

"Wow, you are a long way from home," Maddie said with wide eyes. "Well Courtney, let's go. You've got some catching up to do about living in the U.S."

"Well I don't wanna impose," Courtney replied with a frown.

"No it's fine, we need another girl in the group, and you seem like a cool person." Maddie smiled. "C'mon lets go," Maddie grabbed Courtney's wrist and they headed out the door.

"Toronto? God that would explain the hockey jersey wouldn't it?"

"Yeah." Courtney replied.

"Wait, so do you play hockey then?" Maddie asked

"No, it was a gift from my dad," Courtney replied.

"Oh," Maddie replied awkwardly.

~:~

"So then I was like 'excuse me? I didn't ask for a gel set, I wanted acrylic, and I refuse to pay for this manicure." A blonde complained before tossing her perfectly wavy hair.

"Wow that is sooo interesting Steph," a brunette boy sighed taking a sip from his soda.

"Like I care what you think Dylan," the blonde referred to as Steph scrunched her nose.

"I think what Dylan means is that uh, we don't really know what that means Stephanie," A blonde boy next to Dylan said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ugh whatever," she sighed "I'll just have to explain my many woes to Maddie, where is she anyways?"

"She said she was with her new roommate and they were on their way," The blonde boy explained looking at his Blackberry.

"I wonder if her roommate is hot." Dylan pondered with a smile.

"Ugh you are such a pig," Steph rolled her eyes and took a sip of iced tea.

"Hey it's a natural question," Dylan defended.

Just then the bells from the door of the diner jingled. The trio looked over to the door and saw Maddie and Courtney. Maddie smiled and brought Courtney over to the table.

"Hey guys, this is my roommate, Courtney. Courtney, this is Stephanie, Dylan and Derrick." Maddie introduced everybody before taking a seat next to Stephanie in the booth. Courtney took a seat next to Maddie.

"Speaking of roommates where's yours, Steph?" The blonde boy, Derrick, asked.

"She said something about visiting some art school." Steph said glancing at the menu.

"Stephanie rooms with her friend from State, she's a transfer." Maddie explained.

Courtney looked at the others. Stephanie had platinum blonde hair that was slightly curled to her shoulders and she had bright green eyes. Dylan had brown flippy hair and chocolate brown eyes, his skin was slightly tan and he had light freckles scattered across his face. Derrick was just the opposite of Dylan; his hair was blonde and straight, grazing slightly over his gorgeous blue eyes. Courtney could stare into those baby blues for hours; she always had a soft spot for blue eyes

A waiter came up to the table,

"Can I get you two anything?" He asked.

"Yeah I'll have a Dr. Pepper," Maddie said.

"Um an Iced Tea please," Courtney said. The waiter nodded and left.

"So you're a transfer student? From what school?" Courtney asked Stephanie.

"Florida State. I was interested in business so I applied for the Business program here. When I heard that Maddie got in I just had to apply, that and everyone thought I couldn't get into Harvard, so I just had to prove them wrong." Steph gave her an evil smirk then took another sip of her tea.

"So where you from, Courtney?" Derrick asked after flipping his beautifully blonde hair.

"Um Toronto," She smiled.

"Wait like Canada, Toronto Maple Leaves Toronto?" Dylan's face light up.

"Dylan really likes hockey," Maddie sighed.

"Yeah Toronto Canada," Courtney giggled.

"Wow that's pretty far," Steph said looking at her nails.

"Yeah it is," Courtney sighed.

"So mad I think we should go clubbing this weekend." Stephanie said while texting.

"Well Courtney and I are gonna hang out, check out the city." Maddie replied stirring her iced tea.

"Well Court can come too; you don't mind if I call you Court do you?" Stephanie asked Courtney with a smile.

"Course not," Courtney smiled.

"Well if you guys are going clubbing, then we wanna come. Y'know pick up some girls," Dylan smirked then high fived derrick.

"Ew god no. It's like a girl's night out deal. We don't need you perverts stalking us." Stephanie scoffed.

"At least let us make sure you don't dress Maddie like a hoe this time." Dylan chuckled.

"She did not look like a hoe, she was just dressed up." Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"Don't start playing makeover again, Steph. You're gonna scare Courtney into not hanging out with us again." Derrick said to Stephanie, then looked at Courtney and smiled.

"From the looks of it, court doesn't need any help. She's already hot to begin with." Dylan chuckled and winked at Courtney.

"God Dylan, way to be subtle." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"and you say I'm gonna scare her away." Stephanie smirked at derrick.

"Don't worry about Dylan, he's always that, uh, outgoing." Maddie whispered to Courtney.

"So you guys can meet me and Alice back at our apartment to get ready on Friday. Then we'll hit the Big Apple." Stephanie smiled.

"Wait what are we doing Friday?" a brunette with navy blue in her hair walked up and sat next to derrick in the booth.

"Clubbing on Friday," Stephanie replied taking a sip of her tea.

"Hey Alice," Maddie smiled.

"Hey Maddie." Alice smiled. She looked at Courtney and took a sip of Derrick's coke. "Who's the prep?"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "This is my new roommate, Courtney. Courtney this is Stephanie's roommate Alice." She replied. Courtney nodded looking at the girl.

"Nice to meet you" she said.

"Same here," Alice smiled "Steph, you ready to go?"

"yeah Allie, hey Mad can you let me out?" Stephanie asked.

"Where are you guys going?"Maddie asked as her and Courtney got out of the booth.

"Shopping," the two replied simultaneously.

"Bye darling's, nice meeting you court." Stephanie smiled linking arms with her roommate.

"Text me later, Steph. Kay?" Maddie asked.

"of course love." Mandy replied.

"Later dudes" Dylan said.

"We've gotta bounce too," Derrick said to Dylan.

"Well then, till later ladies?" Dylan smiled.

Derrick rolled his eyes, "bye you guys, nice meeting you Courtney" derrick smiled.

Everyone had left and it was just Maddie and Courtney sitting in the booth.

"Sorry about my friends. They're a little crazy." Maddie said nervously.

"It's fine. I like them. They remind me of my friends back home." Courtney replied with a smile.

"Soo I think derrick likes you," Maddie smiled at Courtney.

"What? No I mean he was just being friendly wasn't he?" Courtney stuttered.

"court, there is no such thing as a friendly guy. He's soo crushing on you." Maddie replied.

"Well what about you? Are you crushing on anyone?" Courtney giggled.

"Well....I kinda like this guy right now. But we're still in the friend zone. Plus I don't think he's even discovered I'm a girl." Maddie said awkwardly.

"You should introduce me to this mystery guy." Courtney smiled after sipping her tea.

"Haha no. Defiantly not." Maddie replied.

"Why not?" Courtney frowned.

"Because...I don't know, it'd be too embarrassing. Why are we talking about this anyways?" Maddie huffed in frustration.

"You brought it up," Courtney smirked.

"Right...back to you and derrick. You should totally ask him out." She smiled, happy to change the subject.

"Who ever said I wanted a relationship right now?" Courtney asked.

"Uh why would anyone want to stay single by choice?" Maddie chuckled.

"Well let's just say I just got out of a serious relationship and it was pretty painful." Courtney explained with a straight face, staring at the drink she was stirring under her chin.

"Shit Courtney, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be like that. I just..." Maddie stammered.

"Maddie, its fine. Just don't bring it up again okay?" Courtney gave her a sad smile.

"Of course," Maddie smiled. "Now, about Friday......."

~:~

Courtney and Maddie were in their room, hanging up and putting away the remnants of Courtney's things. Maddie was pulling out her books and stacking them on her shelf when she pulled out a thick padded book colored lime green. It was square, like a scrapbook and on the front it said "Total Drama Scrapbook" in big blue letters. Underneath it read "Courtney, the goody two shoes" in sparkly silver letters. In the center a picture of a large group of people on a dock. She could see Courtney in the group, wearing a really preppy outfit, sweater vest and all. She was sitting next to a blonde girl and looked very happy. Maddie ran her hand over the cover and began to open the book when Courtney said

"hey you okay?" Courtney walked over.

"I knew you looked familiar, you were on that show, weren't you?" Maddie smiled.

"Total drama island. Yes sadly I was unfortunate to sign up for that." Courtney sighed and rolled her eyes as she sat next to Maddie on the floor.

"Why didn't you say anything? Do you know how cool people would think you were if they knew you were on a reality show?" Maddie asked still holding onto the book.

"Because that's one of the thing I left behind when I left Toronto, that and my ex" Courtney chuckled. "Not to mention that was hell for me, rather not relive those memories. Plus college is all about a new start, remaking yourself and all that crap, can't do that with a reality show hanging over my head."

"That makes sense. So I guess you don't wanna look at this right now." Maddie said.

"Well, it wasn't all bad I guess," Courtney smiled when she opened to a page with her and Bridgette. "That's Bridgette; she became one of my best friends."

~:~

"Wow that sound so exciting Court, even if you didn't win the million," Maddie giggled closing the book.

"Yeah I guess so," Courtney replied.

"You're soo lucky to be able to do that; my parent's would have never let me audition for a reality show. There'd be too much risk for me 'disgracing the family.'" Maddie rolled her eyes.

"I know what you mean; my dad is so strict like that. He's the owner of his own law firm and pretty powerful in the Toronto Law community. He was the hardest one to convince to let me do it. But because I'm such a good percussionist, he gave in. Guess arguing runs in the family." Courtney chuckled.

"ah the life of a rich kid, am I right?" Maddie sighed with a smile.

"seriously." Courtney smiled. "So is Alice from New York also?"

"Nah, her Dad's in the Navy. She's from San Diego." Maddie replied. Courtney gave her another confused look. "Ugh seriously, San Diego? Have you never seen "Some Like It Hot"? it's in Southern California." Maddie explained.

"Like Los Angeles?" Courtney asked.

"Nah, it's almost in Mexico more than anything. It's gorgeous down there, best weather you will ever find in the U.S. My family went for vacation down there a few years ago." Maddie said. "if anything over this next year, I'm going to Americanize you, whether you like it or not"

"you say that like I'm from another planet," Courtney replied.

"you might as well be," Maddie chuckled.

"whatever, night Maddie" Courtney rolled her eyes.

"night Courtney,"

* * *

**yet again for me going awol......now that high school's pretty much over for me, i've got a lot of free time at home and in school cause all my ib classes are over. i hope to have this one done before i go off to college in august. please please puleezz don't hate me and click that little green button at the bottom of the page. yes yes that one, you're almost there, now just click, CLICK DAMNIT! .......awkward.......O.o**


	7. Cliche's to spare

**Hello to everyone who actually still care that i'm publishing, yea yea i kno i epically suck. But on a brighter note, i am really trying to update most of my stories, I have the next chappie of word of your body in the works. I would like to point out that i don't watch anything td related anymore, but i felt like i'd suck for not finishing these, anyways i still like my characters in the stories and my take on the DxC relationship, (which i will alway ship lol,) But you might notice i've taken a bit of a different writing style in the beginning, also im taking this in a bit of a different direction than before, lets just say i've had quite some time to think about this fic.**

**so anyways here in the next and many more to come of this story :) i will warn you, i've been obsessed with anything harry potter lately, and will confess to reading quite a few Romione fics, so if anything that resembles their relationship pops up, you will kno why :D. so without further ado, i present chapter seven of Fall to Pieces. Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the TDI/A/WT Characters, but i do own the lovely Stephanie, Alice, Maddie, Dylan and of course Derrick**

**~Lo**

* * *

It was December, and Courtney had just a few more weeks of school before the end of her first semester of school. It had been quite a semester, her and Maddie were basically best friends, and with that meant they been hanging out with Stephanie, Alice, Dylan and Derrick basically all the time. Courtney was perfectly happy with her new life and her new friends, not to mention Maddie had called the sparks between her and Derrick. At first Courtney was quick to deny that she thought anything more than friendship for him, but eventually, one night while her and Derrick were studying for their test in Biology 101...

"_So after Interphase, the DNA is duplicated and ready to go right into Prophase," Derrick repeated looking at a thick biology book, a look of confusion flashing across his face._

"_Ugh, this is so confusing, I really hate bio, I have never been good at it," Courtney groaned and began rubbing her temples._

"_That's a first," Derrick chuckled, placing the book back on the wooden table. _

"_Excuse me?" Courtney looked up._

"_Well I thought you were perfect at everything," Derrick teased, "Certainly wouldn't believe that you're bad at something, or that you'd admit it either," _

"_Shut up," Courtney smiled, "Not like you're any better at Bio than I am!"_

"_Touche," Derrick smiled back, "Where's Dylan when you need him," He sighed._

"_Maggie's helping him with his term paper for Art History, you know how terrible he is at anything artistic, or having to do with writing for that matter," Courtney replied with a smirk._

"_Lucky her." Derrick smiled._

"_Actually I think she's pretty happy about it," Courtney replied with a knowing smirk as she looked down at her notes._

"_What do you mean by that?" Derrick asked._

"_Nothing," Courtney rolled her eyes and looked back at the notes. An awkward silence draped the pair as they sat in the corner of the dark library. _

_ Derrick looked up at her, watching as she scanned the paper with a fury. He smiled as he thought about how he got to know her this year. Courtney may seem bossy or uptight on the outside, but he'd seen through that. She was motivated, confident, in charge, and Derrick would be lying if he said he didn't think it was sexy. But it was more than that, something about Courtney made his pulse race. Derrick didn't get nervous around girls, but she made him turn into a bubbling pile of goo. The way she would raise her eyebrow when she smirked at him, it questioned the bravado he had built up his nineteen years. And Derrick was pretty sure he wasn't the only one in the relationship that felt something. But for the life of him he couldn't figure out what was holding her back. He asked Dylan, and his only idea was that Courtney wouldn't go for him because he wasn't Canadian. Note to self, don't consult Dylan on relationship advice. _

_ Courtney looked up to find Derrick staring at her with that stupid grin he so often fashioned. He looked down immediately and his face was graced with a blush as he started shuffling through his notes. Courtney smiled at how adorable he looked flustered. He really was quite a sight, Courtney couldn't deny that. But Derrick was more than that, he was literally the perfect guy. He was smart, and funny, hot, and he was the perfect guy to talk to. Every time she was even in the same room with him, she felt butterflies bubbling in her stomach. The way his messy blonde hair just fell across his crystal blue eyes, it made Courtney melt. She never thought she'd ever feel like this again, but when she was with him, it felt like all the things that happened prior to her coming to Harvard had just disappeared. Although she really liked him, she wasn't sure how to move from this point. She was hurt, more than she could ever feel hurt before, and it was all because of Duncan. Wow, she hadn't thought about him in weeks, she was so caught up in school and her new life, she just didn't have time to dwell on him anymore. And now that he was in her thoughts again, Courtney's stomach took a nosedive for the worse. This was neither the time or the place for her to think about him, but she couldn't help it. Her thoughts were interrupted by the boy sitting next to her._

"_Courtney? Are you okay?" Derrick asked._

"_Hmn?" She looked up at him, her eyes glassy and her face scattered in her thoughts._

"_You look upset about something. I know I'm terrible at bio, but that's no reason to freak out. Biology is really not worth it," Derrick chuckled as he looked into her eyes with comfort._

"_No!" Courtney shook her head quickly, shaking off the awful feeling that was lurking inside her, "No, Derrick it's not you, you're wonderful," She smiled._

"_Nah, we'd be no where if it wasn't for you're study schedule, I mean I'd probably still be debating what would be the easiest to study first." Derrick replied. Courtney smiled back. It was quiet again. _

_ Courtney looked up to say something when she felt his lips on hers. Courtney felt a bit of a shock, she couldn't believe someone like Derrick would be kissing her, in the back of a school library no less. She kissed back, with a smile and she closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his soft lips. He started slow and soft, not sure whether she'd return his affection or not. But she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, he intensified his pace and wrapped his arms around her waist. She pulled away and smiled as she leaned her forehead on his. He smiled back as they sat there, enjoying the silence of this moment. _

"_Wow," Courtney finally whispered._

"_Yeah," Derrick replied back with that stupid grin again._

~:~

"So, for the first two weeks of break, you'll be in Toronto with your family, then you come down to my place for New years and the rest of break," Maddie repeated as the two packed for the upcoming winter break. They had completed their last final this morning, and Courtney would be on a plane for Toronto in two days. Courtney couldn't wait to be home and see her parents. But not for long of course, she was finally happy with where she was in her life.

"Right, two weeks of being back home, then its back to my life of bliss and freedom," Courtney smiled as she packed her jeans into a suitcase.

"And by bliss, I guess you mean being to back in Derrick's arms, right?" Maddie smirked.

"I don't know what you mean, Madison," Courtney rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at her roommate.

"Oh ya, you and him making out at the hall Christmas party was totally platonic," Maddie teased and threw the pillow back,

"We were under the mistletoe." Courtney replied.

"That was not a mistletoe kiss, that was full on snogging," Maddie replied with a smirk.

"Snogging?" Courtney raised her eyebrow.

"What? My parents are taking us to London for Christmas, working on my British lingo," Maddie smiled.

"Well keep working," Courtney chuckled and began folding one of her shirts.

"So does this mean you two still haven't made it official?" Maddie asked picking up a pile of gray henleys.

"I told you, we're taking it slow," Courtney explained calmly.

"So you aren't freaking cause he hasn't used the G word yet?" Maddie asked sitting on her bed.

"G word?" Courtney asked sitting on her own bed.

"Girlfriend," Maddie replied.

"I guess a little, I mean its been like a month since what happened in the library," Courtney replied.

"You could always ask him," Maddie mused.

"But what if he doesn't want to be in a relationship, what if this is just friends with benefits, what if i'm over reading him and he doesn't actually feel the same way I do?" Courtney reasoned.

"Well unless you want to be in the dark for the next two weeks, I suggest you ask him and figure out what the hell is going on with you two." Maddie replied.

"Speaking of which, how are things going with you know who?" Courtney teased.

"We are not going to talk about that right now," Maddie glared at her.

"Come on! Maddie you need to talk to him sooner or later," Courtney replied.

"Yes and I choose later rather than sooner." Maddie replied, ending the conversation.

"Fine," Courtney rolled her eyes, "So what should I wear to this Harrison annual New Years bash?" Courtney giggled and the two began searching through dresses.

~:~

"Okay, so I'm all packed, I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Maddie replied with a smile.

"You're only bringing one bag home?" Courtney asked incredulously.

"You forget that most of my shit is at home anyways," Maddie replied with a smile.

"Lucky you," Courtney groaned working on her second bag of clothes.

"So, dinner?" Maddie smiled.

"Fine, but you're texting everyone else," Courtney sighed as she walked over to her mirror to fix her hair.

"Well Steph isn't coming, her and Alice are out shopping, again," Maggie replied, "So I guess it'll just be us and the guys,"

"Fantastic," Courtney sighed, "one last dinner filled with awkward sexual tension just floating about,"

"It could be worse," Maggie replied.

"How?" Courtney raised her eyebrow.

Maddie was silent, then replied "We could always be Charlotte,"

Charlotte was the girl living in their hall who was possibly the most boy crazy girl Courtney had ever met, yet only served as a comic relief at any party that she ever attended. She had made out with about half of the freshman population, girls included, but yet no one ever really kept any sort of relationship with her. It was quiet sad, but she was annoyingly crazy, so Courtney didn't pity her too much.

"That's true," Courtney mused as she grabbed her coat and a scarf.

~:~

Courtney and Maddie walked outside and saw the two boys tossing a frisbee around in the quad. They had all decided against the gross leftovers that were served in the caf over the weekends and had decided to go out for burgers. The girls walked up and waved at Dylan who waved back then proceeded to get hit in the head with the frisbee. Derrick laughed and the girls started giggling. Dylan looked flustered as a red blush creeped across his face.

"Are we eating sometime tonight or what?" Maddie smiled and the two boys started walking towards them.

"So who's driving?" Dylan joked, still a bit pink, whether from embarrassment or the cold, was unknown.

"I am, as usual," Maddie joked as they started for the parking lot across the field.

Courtney turned to Derrick and just as she started to say something he began

"Hey, um, I have something for you," Derrick's eyes flashed to the ground.

"Oh? You didn't have to get me-" Courtney started,

"No," He cut her off, looking into her eyes. "I wanted to get you this," He pulled a black velvet, rectangular box out of his backpack. He opened it, and inside was a gold necklace, with a C charm dangling at the center. "Courtney, I was wondering, if you'd be my girlfriend," he smiled. She looked right at him, "I know this seems really cheesy and all, but I'm just a bit old fashioned I guess," He chuckled.

She smiled, "Wow Derrick, this is beautiful,"

"May I?" he pulled the necklace out of the box, she nodded and pulled her hair to the side so he could put it on. She smiled as he moved her hair back into place, and looked up at him, stupid grin and all. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him like she had never kissed him before. He pulled her close and lifted her up off the ground. He pulled away and looked in her eyes,

"So is that a yes?" He smiled.

she rolled her eyes and responded "Of course," then kissed him one last time before he put her down. The snow had started falling while they were lost in each other, and the connected hands as they made their way to Maddie's car.

~:~

Duncan was leaning against his car, scowling as he watched that blonde douche with his Courtney. The necklace, the kiss, the snow, it was like some cheesy cliché out of one of those chick flicks she used to make him watch with her. Secretly he had always wanted a moment like that with her, but he had never manned up to make it happen. One of the many regrets he had come to discover since they broke up. The worst part of this whole thing, other than the fact he took the day off at the mechanics and that he drove all the way up to fucking Massachusetts to see her, was the face of pure happiness that she wore as she walked towards the same parking lot he was moping in. She wore that face, the one that only him used to give her. He never forgot how beautiful she looked, but that face, damn, she looked like a goddess.

"Fuck," Duncan mumbled as he climbed into his car, looking over at her one last time before starting the car and driving off.

~:~

Courtney felt absolutely elated as they came up to Maddie's car. She chuckled as she watched Maddie and Dylan argue about something. Derrick opened the door for her and kissed her again before letting go of her hand and closing the door before walking to the other side of the car. Maddie and Dylan stopped argueing and turned back to face them as Derrick entered the car and laced his fingers with her again.

"So you two lovebirds finally together?" Dylan teased and Maddie hit his arm in response.

"Are we eating anytime soon or not?" Derrick asked. Maddie laughed and started the car. Courtney smiled and looked out the window. She frowned as she looked over to a car across the lot. She shook her head and turned from the window.

"Something wrong, love?" Derrick whispered.

"no, everything's perfect," She smiled and kissed him again.

"Hey!" They looked up and saw Maddie's eyes in the rear view mirror, "No kissing in the car, got it?" she smirked and they all laughed in response. Courtney smiled as she looked back out the window. She had no idea why, but before she swore she had seen a green mohawk.

* * *

**Hate the sin, not the sinner**

**please review!**

**~Lo**


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